In Pennsylvania's shale-gas region, many cities and towns have passed ordinances restricting where drillers can put their fracking wells, equipment and wastewater. Now a case is before the state's Supreme Court.

About this collection

“The New Petro-State?” is Marketplace's coverage of the surge in oil and gas production that could turn the United States into the next Petro-State, and the hydraulic fracturing (aka "fracking") technology that’s made it possible. The petro-boom question has vast implications for the U.S. economy: movement toward energy self-sufficiency, job creation, domestic manufacturing jobs. It has stoked a global debate over realigning traditional energy power in the world. The rush to frack has also raised questions about drinking water safety, wastewater disposal and treatment, land rights, seismic activity, and the costs and benefits of drilling to local communities.